DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Response to Amendment
The following office action is in response to the amendment and remarks filed on 8/10/26
Applicant’s amendment to claims 7 and 21 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-6 and 15-20 are cancelled.
Applicant’s addition of new claims 27-32 is acknowledged.
Claims 7-14 and 21-32 are pending and claims 12-14 are withdrawn.
Claims 7-11 and 21-32 are subject to examination at this time.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim 7 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 27-32 are allowed.
Claim 8 and 10-11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 7, 21, 22 and 24-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huang et al., US 20160247726 A1.
Huang anticipates:
. 7. A method, comprising (see figs. 1-22):
forming a fin structure (4) above a substrate (1) of a semiconductor device;
forming a dummy gate structure (7) e that wraps around the fin structure on at least three sides of the fin structure;
forming a sidewall protection layer (12) on a sidewall spacer layer (9) of the dummy gate structure;
(see fig. 6) removing a portion of the fin structure (4) adjacent to the dummy gate structure to form a source/drain recess (10),
wherein the sidewall protection layer (12) resists etching of the fin structure under the sidewall spacer layer (9);
(see figs. 10-12, para. [0118]) after removing the portion of the fin structure, isotropically etching the fin structure through the source/drain recess (10) to laterally extend the source/drain recess (e.g. laterally extended source/drain 13) under a bottom surface of the dummy gate structure (7), wherein the sidewall protection layer (12) protects a buffer region (e.g. region directly under dummy gate 7; e.g. horizontal portion of T-shape) of the fin structure under the sidewall spacer layer (90) from lateral etching; and
forming a source/drain region (14+15) in the source/drain recess. See Huang at para. [0001] – [0138].
21. A method, comprising (see figs. 1-22):
forming a fin structure (4) above a substrate (1) of a semiconductor device;
forming a dummy gate structure (7) on the fin structure;
forming a sidewall spacer layer (9) on the dummy gate structure;
(e.g. In a first interpretation, see fig. 6) removing a portion of the fin structure adjacent to the dummy gate structure to form a source/drain recess (10);
(see fig. 10) forming a sidewall protection layer (12) on the sidewall spacer layer, wherein the sidewall protection layer extends below a bottom surface of a portion of the dummy gate structure (7) that is on the fin structure;
(e.g. In a second interpretation, see fig. 12) removing a portion of the fin structure adjacent to the dummy gate structure to form a source/drain recess (13);
(e.g. see para. [0119]) fully removing, after forming the source/drain recess, the sidewall protection layer (12); and
forming, after fully removing the sidewall protection layer (21), a source/drain region (14+15) in the source/drain recess (13). See Huang at para. [0001] – [0138].
Regarding claim 21:
See MPEP § 2111.01, “Plain Meaning”:
Although the specification discussed only a single embodiment, the court held that it was improper to read a specific order of steps into method claims where, as a matter of logic or grammar, the language of the method claims did not impose a specific order on the performance of the method steps, and the specification did not directly or implicitly require a particular order.
Huang further teaches:
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the sidewall protection layer (12) extends below the bottom surface of the dummy gate structure (7) by greater than 0% to approximately 50% of a depth of the source/drain region, fig. 10.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the sidewall protection layer comprises silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride (SixNy), silicon carbonitride (SiCN), silicon oxynitride (SiON), or silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN), para. [0016].
25. The method of claim 21, further comprising: forming an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer (16) over the source/drain region (14+15), fig. 20.
26. The method of claim 21, wherein the portion of the fin structure is removed using an anisotropic etch technique (e.g. See first interpretation, fig. 6, para. [0114])
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 9 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, as applied to claims 7 and 21 above.
Regarding claim 9:
Huang further teaches:
9. The method of claim 7, wherein forming the sidewall protection layer (12) comprises:
forming the sidewall protection layer (12) on a top surface of the dummy gate structure (7) and on a top surface of the portion of the fin structure (4),
wherein the sidewall protection layer (12) is retained on the sidewall spacer layer (9) of the dummy gate structure (7) after removal of the portion of the fin structure, para. [0a18], figs. 10-12.
Huang teaches the sidewall protection layer is patterned/removed in a separate step before removing the portion of the fin structure.
Huang does not expressly teach the sidewall protection layer is removed in an integral step when removing the portion of the fin structure.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in to perform “wherein the sidewall protection layer is removed from the top surface of the dummy gate structure and from the top surface of the portion of the fin structure when removing the portion of the fin structure”, since forming in one piece (e.g. one, integral step) an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces (e.g. two, separate steps) and put together involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04, Legal Precedent as Source of Supporting Rationale, V. Making Portable, Integral, Separable, Adjustable or Continuous.
Regarding claim 23:
Huang does not expressly teach wherein the sidewall protection layer comprises a polymer material.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to form the sidewall protection layer comprises a polymer material., since it is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended purpose as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. See MPEP § 2144.07, Art Recognized Suitability for an Intended Purpose.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michele Fan whose telephone number is 571-270-7401. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 7:30 am to 4 pm.
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/Michele Fan/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
29 September 2026
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